Thursday, November 12, 2026

Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan recovering after surgery

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan is recovering after undergoing "successful" surgery. The rockers were forced to shelve the remaining...
Home TV

TV

Ainsley Harriott gifted free chesse by Strictly Come Dancing fans


Ainsley Harriott has been given lots of free cheese since signing up for 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
The former 'Ready Steady Cook' host has confessed he's struggling to ditch his extra weight ahead of the BBC One dance contest because people keep giving him free goodies.
Speaking at the launch of the new series, Ainsley said: "I am getting free cheese now that people know that I'm in it. The guy in the local cheese shop has never been so nice. He says, 'Oh, you've got to try this one'."
While many of the celebrity contestants have been getting in shape for the show over the past few months, Ainsley has been busy filming a cookery show.
He continued: "How have I been keeping in shape? I haven't! I filmed a ten-part food show this summer and put on a about a stone.
"We were going to three restaurants a day.
"It's like visiting your auntie. You're like, 'Ooh I must try this!' You can't say no, you have got to have a spoonful."
However, the 58-year-old star - who was partnered with Australian beauty Natalie Lowe on the 'Strictly' pairing show - has been keeping on top of his regular exercise regime.
He shared: "I go dog walking and play tennis. And I have done Pilates for about eight years."
Nevertheless, Ainsley is already struggling with muscle pain.
He added: "I have already been to see the physio about my calf. The muscle got tight and he told me that prevention is better than a cure and so he gave me a few stretches."
'Strictly Come Dancing' returns to BBC One on Friday September 25.

Sherlock fans threaten Martin Freeman ‘s life


'Sherlock' star Martin Freeman and his wife Amanda Abbington have received death threats.
The 43-year-old actor and Amanda - who also plays his spouse in the BBC drama - contacted police after an obsessive female fan wrote a series of comments online that called for the couples' funerals and showed a weapon to be used in their murder.
A picture of a customised barbed wire baseball bat was captioned: "Shall we start prepping for a possible funeral?"
Whilst another fan wrote: "Dude that's intense, but i would so use these".
Benedict Cumberbatch - who plays Sherlock Holmes - was named in an apparent explanation of why the couple should be killed.
The fan wrote: "Both Martin Freeman and Amanda Abbington are starting to give Benedict and all his fans a bad name! They seriously just need to shut up and f***ing die already!"
Martin, 43, has children, Joe, nine and seven-year-old-Grace, with Amanda.
The actress, 41, received similar death threats last year but this time she took to Twitter to post screen shots of the threats and spoke directly to the perpetrator.
She penned: "To the coward who's since shut this blog down. We've already informed the police sweetie. They have all the info."
A source close to the couple - who married in 2000 - said the pair are aware of Benedict's obsessive female fans who are known as "Cumberb*****s".
The insider told The Sun newspaper: "These messages were incredibly sinister and they are well aware of the obsessive nature of a certain number of Benedict fans.
"Hopefully whoever is behind this will be caught and prosecuted."

Honey Mitchell returning to EastEnders


Honey Mitchell is returning to 'EastEnders'.
The actress Emma Barton is set to reprise her role as Billy Mitchell's ex-wife Honey when she returns to Albert Square later this year.
She said: "I was absolutely delighted to be asked to return to the Square! Cliche as it sounds, but it's like coming home. I've had a wonderful time treading the boards but can't wait to put Honey's shoes back on and find out what she's been up to and what the future has in store."
Honey left Walford with her and Billy's children William and Janet in 2008 after their marriage fell apart.
However, she briefly returned in 2014 to tell Billy of her plans to move to Canada and eventually decided to leave their daughter Janet - who has Down's syndrome - with him.
Although Billy - who was also previously married to Little Mo Slater - is sure to be delighted at Honey and William's return, it is yet to be revealed whether they will rekindle their relationship.
Honey is set to return to the BBC One soap later this year.

Rik Makarem returns to Emmerdale as Nikhil Sharma


Rik Makarem is to reprise his role as Nikhil Sharma in 'Emmerdale'.
The 33-year-old actor - who played Nikhil from 2008 to 2013 - is set to return to the ITV soap later this year after his character fled the dales following the death of his wife Gennie to start a new life in Canada with their daughter Molly.
Rik said of his return: "With fresh energy and wisdom from playing other characters, I'm over the moon to be re-investing in Nikhil. 'Emmerdale' is fantastic at character driven stories and for any actor, this is massively rewarding."
Rik is set to reprise his role as the much-loved Nikhil as part of an exciting storyline and will begin filming this month.
'Emmerdale' series producer Kate Oates said: "I am thrilled to be welcoming Rik back. Nikhil previously left 'Emmerdale' under sad circumstances as he continued to grieve for his wife Gennie, but with strong family roots still in the village it was inevitable that he would reappear. But with Jai off the rails, Rishi at his wit's end and Priya flaunting her new-found ambitions, what will he make of the family he left behind?"
Since leaving 'Emmerdale', Rik has starred in a number of theatre productions including 'The Dishwashers', 'Dead Simple' and 'Passing By'.

Louis Tomlinson to make X Factor return?


Simon Cowell is reportedly getting Louis Tomlinson on the 'X Factor' to boost ratings.
The 55-year-old music mogul plans to bring the One Direction star onto the ITV talent show to make it a "huge success" because the pop supergroup have "always been big ratings winners" and Louis is "the most outspoken of the band".
A source told The Sun newspaper: "Simon is pulling out the big guns as he is still determined to make this series a huge success.
"One Direction have always been big ratings winners and Louis is the most outspoken of the band. He won't be afraid to tell people if they're terrible, which Simon loves."
The 'Drag Me Down' singer could be replacing Sinitta who usually helps out at the judges' houses part of the competition.
And the 'Toy Boy' hitmaker herself has always been a fan of Louis and reckons it would be "amazing" if he became a full-time judge on the show because he spent "a lot of time last year" as a mentor and "watching rehearsals".
Asked what she thought of Louis as a judge she previously said: "That would be amazing. He spent a lot of time with us last year, mentoring the talent and watching rehearsals.
"I could definitely see him going into music management and production so it's a good place to start."
Simon also hinted during the launch of this year's show that the 1D hunk would make a return.
He said: "I think Louis might be on one of the shows."

Peter Andre’s son wants to go on Strictly Come Dancing


Peter Andre's son wants to compete on 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
The 'Mysterious Girl' hitmaker's oldest kids, 10-year-old Junior and eight-year-old Princess - who he has with ex-wife Katie Price - are "excited" about the fact he is to appear on the next series of the competition, but while his daughter is doubtful about his skills on the dancefloor, his son is hoping to join him on the programme.
Peter - who also has 19-month-old daughter Amelia with wife Emily MacDonagh - said: "When I told J and P about me taking part, they were so excited.
"Princess said to me, 'But dad, can you dance?' I said, 'Hello, have you not seen me on stage?' to which she replied, 'Yeah but can you dance?'
"On the other hand, Junior has asked me if he can compete himself so I had to tell him no!"
Peter is nervous about being on the show, but has bonded with the other male contestants - though he is worried about them playing pranks on him.
Writing in his column for new! magazine, Peter said: "I'm still so nervous, but hanging out with some of the guys, including Jay McGuinness from The Wanted and Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo, has helped calm me down.
"We've all been thrown in at the deep end but we're getting on really well. Us guys are already planning on pulling little pranks on each other.
"So far, we've come up with taking pictures of Jay and putting them on 'wanted' posters around the streets.
"I don't know what they have in mind for me so I'll have to have eyes in the back of my head."

Melvin and Rochelle want to be ‘best friends’ with Simon Cowell


Melvin Odoom and Rochelle Humes are determined to make Simon Cowell their "new best friend"
The 'Xtra Factor' hosts landed their new job by impressing the music mogul with their own audition tape, but now want to take their professional relationship further.
Melvin said: "We're plotting to make Simon our new best friend. We hustled hard to get this job, so we've impressed him a bit.
"We filmed our own audition tape to get the job and Simon liked it. He's such a cool boss - but I've yet to get his number in my phone.
"I think Rochelle's closer to getting it than I am."
And the presenting duo have even resorted to giving Simon gifts for his young son Eric, 18 months, in a bid to win him over.
Rochelle added: "We made a little bib for Eric to win over Simon. He seemed to like it, but I don't think he took it home..."
While Simon remains elusive, the pair are enjoying working with show judge Cheryl Fernandez-Versini.
Rochelle said: "Cheryl is a babe. I've known her for years through the industry and she's so down to earth."
Melvin added: "She's really fun and approachable. She's great fun to work with."

Leslie Ash to make TV return on This Morning


Leslie Ash is making a TV comeback on 'This Morning'.
The former 'Men Behaving Badly' actress will front a mini-series on the ITV show about botched cosmetic operations, having only recently come off medication after she contracted bacterial infection MRSA while in hospital in 2004.
The 55-year-old star - whose last TV appearance was in 'Holby City' in 2010 - fell victim to the side effects of cosmetic operations operations over a decade ago when she was left with extra large lips after suffering an allergic reaction to a lip filler injection.
Speaking ahead of the mini-series, she told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: "I wanted to examine this industry and find out if people in the UK are still having problems with cosmetic surgery and the answer is simple - they are
"From my own experiences and from the people I've met, my advice would be to stop, think 'is this really what you want to do?' before going ahead with any form of surgery."
Meanwhile, Leslie is reportedly in talks to take part in 'I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!' later this year although show bosses are worried about her health on the programme.
A source previously said: "While Leslie can walk again, she still sometimes uses a stick because of some balance issues which might rule her out of some challenges.
"Bosses are currently seeing people about this year's series and Leslie would be a great contestant if it could be made to work."

Sue Perkins for new BBC game-show


Sue Perkins will commentate on BBC's new game-show.
The 'Great British Bake Off' host will team up with presenters Zoe Ball, 44, and Ashley Banjo, 26, on the network's new Saturday night primetime show 'Can't Touch This', which will see members of the public compete on a giant assault course to win a variety of prizes.
An insider said: "The concept is completely mad - think 'Total Wipeout' meets 'Gladiators'.
"It's all about action-packed fun, with the prizes being suspended just out of reach and the public taking part in challenges to see if they can reach them.
"The producers just thought Sue's wit made her the perfect commentator, and after everything she has being going through it's great she's getting stuck into yet another amazing project.
"The show is aimed at every generation and they think the combination of her humour with Ashley's energy and Zoe's presenting skills will be a ratings winner."
The programme is currently being filmed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and is expected to air next year.
The job is the first major TV role for former 'Britain's Got Talent' winner Ashley since Sky 1 competition 'Got To Dance', on which he was a judge for four years, was axed.
He told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: "The sheer scale of it is immense. The concept sounds so simple "touch the prize, win the prize" but the course is anything but!
"And due to the "chance" element of some of the games it really is anybody's guess who will win, no matter how young or fit you are.
"With all the incredible prizes on offer, including a brand new car, contestants are literally falling head over heels to try and win them.
"Zoe and I have been crying with laughter watching them try but also really rooting for them to do well."

Must Read

Skepta vows to never retire from music

Skepta has no plans to retire from music. The 44-year-old grime legend - whose real name is Joseph Olaitan...

Pearl Jam are still actively recruiting a new drummer

Pearl Jam are still recruiting a new drummer for future shows. Matt Cameron, 63, announced his departure from the...

BTS Swim copyright lawsuit dropped by songwriters

A legal challenge over BTS' chart-topping hit Swim has been thrown out after the songwriters behind the case moved to end the...